The national laws that are meant to protect nature in Australia are broken, and Anthony Albanese must stop delaying and follow through on his promises to fix them.
The Albanese government went into the 2022 election promising new nature laws. Three years later, that promise remains unfulfilled.
Now, after basking in the success of an election victory, Anthony Albanese must address the elephant – or giant burning koala – in the room: nature laws, and his government’s repeated failure to overhaul them.
Where are we at with Australia’s nature laws?
The last time nature laws were top of mind for the government was just before the federal election, when the Albanese Government introduced amendments to protect the caged salmon industry in Tasmania rather than the threatened species it’s sending to extinction. In doing so, Albanese effectively signed a death sentence for the Maugean skate.
So, despite the government’s promises, the environment ended up in a worse position at the end of Labor’s three-year term than at the beginning.
But the government can still make nature a national priority.
The return of the Albanese government and the appointment of Murray Watt as the Minister for Environment and Water is a fresh opportunity to get on with the job.
What needs to change in the next 12 months for nature laws?
The Albanese government must commit to getting Bills into parliament that protect the land, water and air we all depend on, in the first 12 months of this term.
These laws must include:
Strong, legally enforceable National Environmental Standards to ensure decisions are focused on making things better for wildlife, ecosystems and heritage places.
An independent national Environment Protection Agency (EPA) that can make efficient, informed decisions about proposed projects and enforce the new nature laws.
Environment Information Australia for better data that helps Australia track progress towards its goals to protect and restore nature and informs decision making about what we should and shouldn’t do.
Genuine protection of threatened plants, animals and places through a quick “no” to proposals with unacceptable impacts.
The new laws also must prevent climate harm and close current loopholes that allow forest corporations to destroy Australia’s native forests.
Nature protection and economic success go hand in hand
When nature wins, we all win. Real jobs. Stronger communities. Thriving wildlife. That’s the future stronger nature laws can deliver.
A future made in Australia in manufacturing, energy, agriculture and tourism relies on healthy nature. $900 billion (nearly half) of Australia’s GDP has a moderate to high dependence on healthy nature.2
New nature laws just make sense.
Nature needs us, now
We need to protect what protects us. 96% of Australians want more action to protect nature and the most powerful tools we have to do that are better laws.
Nature is who we are. Lose it, and we lose ourselves. We lose the iconic koalas nestled in eucalypt trees, the chuckling call of the kookaburra, and the beautiful flowering natives that paint our shared backyard in vibrant colours.
Send a clear message to the Labor government today
The heat is already on the Prime Minister and the only way he’ll turn empty promises into action is if we keep the pressure up.
Anthony Albanese needs to hear from his Labor colleagues that Australians want his government to deliver what we were promised – strong laws that last.
Join thousands of people sending a clear message to the government to deliver on their unfulfilled promise. We’ll make sure your comment gets to Labor.